David Bell

David Bell
Head of Global Talent Acquisition 
IDEXX – Portland, Maine USA

What an amazing company IDEXX is. NASDAQ Listed (IDXX), a S&P 500 index stock – a talented group of innovators who improve animal health and the quality of drinking water globally.

As the market leader in global veterinary diagnostics and software IDEXX helps pets (and other animals) lead healthier lives. Their preventative care solutions (“if you only knew, you could help them”) are truly remarkable – particularly the kidney health predictor tests for cats and dogs. 

I have been lucky enough to work within David Bell’s talent acquisition team as an independent contractor and in more recent years as a supplier of in-house recruiters. David’s role, which sits as a member of the HR leadership team, has been pivotal in the growth of IDEXX since his appointment as Head of Global Talent Acquisition in 2015, specifically, fuelling IDEXX growth with great talent.  

We sat down last week and caught up on the market, direction of travel for the TA sector and the future role of AI in recruitment.

In more recent years David implemented a strategic sourcing model based on global service lines rather than leading by specific location. This approach has resulted in engagement with top talent (wherever people may be) with the ‘story telling’ of the IDEXX EVP (and branding) being consistent globally and delivered by service lines. This has created service line recruiters who become subject matter experts in highly technical positions that could be located anywhere around the world. Hiring managers, too, have seen how a flexible approach to location and languages not only helps to fill vacancies, grow the business but create a genuinely diverse work force. 

David’s focus on technology – and ability to ‘cut through’ all the noise is impressive. He has assembled an energetic global TA team who embrace cutting edge direct sourcing tools, which interface well with IDEXX marketing collateral. There is also a strong focus on new graduates within the life and animal health sciences sector – the talented hires of tomorrow.   

AI as a tool for TA

I asked David about his recent visit to the Talent Acquisition Institute conference in Pasadena, California – and particularly his views regarding AI as a tool for TA. 

David said “what’s very clear is the very best companies are doubling down on TA investment including enhanced candidate CRM functionality, short-sharp tech-enabled assessment (accelerating existing science around competency, skills etc), and the leverage of AI via tools like ChatGPT et al integrations – all designed to augment the human experience in hiring, to scale targeted talent outreach, and support true equity in the hiring funnel”.

We discussed the use of “intelligent” (human-like) chat bots which can reduce the heavy lifting of multiple phone screens which have been normal practice for in-house recruiters. David said that whilst many technical roles can be location agnostic, there will always be a requirement for some job functions based in a specific location – for IDEXX that can mean corporate HQ in Portland Maine or the EMEA HQ in Hoofddorp Netherlands. Chat bots can quickly ascertain important information about a candidate’s current position and then alert the recruiters to availability/location and general interest in a vacancy.

Nothing will replace the key role of a Corporate Recruiter

As David says ‘Great Talent is still scarce’ – hence the continuous challenge to seek out, engage with, and hire the best. Nothing will replace the key role of a Corporate Recruiter – they are the ‘front face, the concierge, the master of ceremonies’ for people new to IDEXX.

Thank you, David, for taking the time to speak with us again at Corporate Recruiters.

Contact David via LinkedIn here

Visit IDEXX here